SOCIETÀ GEOLOGICA ITALIANA

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2 RENDICONTI Online della Società Geologica Italiana, è un periodico quadrimestrale della Società Geologica Italiana. Esce nei mesi di Dicembre, Aprile ed Agosto. The RENDICONTI Online della Società Geologica Italiana is a journal of the Italian Geological Society. It is published every four months in December, April and August. Direttore responsabile e Redattore (Editor-in-Chief): Domenico CALCATERRA (Napoli). Responsabili editoriali (Editorial Managers): Alessandro ZUCCARI (SGI - Roma), Fabio Massimo PETTI (SGI - Roma). Comitato di redazione (Associate Editors): Alessandra ASCIONE (Napoli), Domenico COSENTINO (Roma TRE - Roma), Corrado CENCETTI (Perugia), Gianfranco CIANCETTI (Pavia), Massimo CIVITA (Torino), Piero FARABOLLINI (Camerino), Fabrizio GALLUZZO (ISPRA - Roma), Massimo MATTEI (Roma TRE - Roma), Carmelo MONACO (Catania), Paolo MOZZI (Padova), Mariano PARENTE (Napoli), Dario SLEJKO (OGS - Trieste), Iole SPALLA (Milano). La SOCIETÀ GEOLOGICA ITALIANA fu fondata il 29 settembre 1881, eretta ad Ente Morale con Regio Decreto del 17 Ottobre La Segreteria è ospitata dal Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra della Sapienza, Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro, Roma, Italy. The SOCIETÀ GEOLOGICA ITALIANA was founded in Bologna on September 29th, It was recognized as non-profit corporation with the Royal Decree of October 17th, The secretary office is hosted by the Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra of the Sapienza University, Piazzale Aldo Moro, Roma, Italy. Contatti (Contacts): Tel ; Fax ; info@socgeol.it Sito web (Society Web Site): Codice Fiscale (Income Tax Number): ; Conto corrente postale (Postal giro account): CONSIGLIO DIRETTIVO 2014 (Council Members for 2014): Carlo DOGLIONI - President, Alessandro ZUCCARI - General Secretary, Marco PETITTA - Treasurer, Elisabetta ERBA, Domenico CALCATERRA (EiC of the ROL), Piero CASERO, Paolo CONTI, Domenico COSENTINO, Stefano DALLA, David GOVONI, Carmelo MONACO, Fabio Massimo PETTI, Sandro CONTICELLI (EiC of the IJG - BSGI). REVISORI DEI CONTI 2014 (Financial Auditors 2014): Luca ALDEGA, Eugenio CARMINATI, Fabio TRIPPETTA SEZIONI DELLA SOCIETÀ GEOLOGICA ITALIANA (Italian Geological Society Sections): Marine Geology: Francesco CHIOCCI - Chair Planetary Geology: Gian Gabriele ORI - Chair Hydrogeology: Giovanni BARROCU - Chair Carbonate Geology: Gloria CIARAPICA, Antonio PRATURLON - Chairs Geo-informatics: Chiara D AMBROGI - Chair Structural Geology: Giovanni CAPPONI - Chair Young Geologists: Ester TIGANO - Chair Environmental Geology: Leo ADAMOLI - Chair Himalayan Geology: Rodolfo CAROSI - Chair GeoSed: Simonetta CIRILLI - Chair History of Geosciences: Alessio ARGENTIERI, Marco PANTALONI - Chairs Geoethics and Geological Culture: Silvia PEPPOLONI - Chair La Società Geologica Italiana è affiliata alla European Geosciences Union (EGU). The Società Geologica Italiana is affiliated to the European Geosciences Union (EGU). QUOTA ASSOCIATIVA 2014 (Association Fees 2014): socio sostenitore (supporter fellow) 100, socio ordinario (ordinary fellow) 93; socio senior (senior fellow) 68, socio junior (junior fellow) 68; studente (student) 36; Istituzioni (Institutions) 300. Iscrizione alla pagina (Subscription at): or at La Società Geologica Italiana detiene il copyright degli articoli, dei dati, delle figure e di tutto il materiale pubblicato. Papers, data, figures, maps and any other material published are covered by the copyright own by the Società Geologica Italiana. DISCLAIMER: The Società Geologica Italiana, the Editors (Chief, Associates), and the Publisher are not responsible for the ideas, opinions, and contents of the papers published; the authors of each paper are responsible for the ideas, opinions and contents published. La Società Geologica Italiana, i curatori scientifici (Chief, Associates), e la Casa Editrice non sono responsabili delle opinioni espresse e delle affermazioni pubblicate negli articoli: l autore/i è/sono il/i solo/i responsabile/i.

3 pag. 3.pdf 1 11/04/ :22:02 ISSN doi: /ROL RENDICONTI Online della Società Geologica Italiana Volume 30, Supplemento n. 1 - Aprile rd ENFSI APST WG Meeting April 2-4, Rome, ITALY C M 3rd ENFSI APST WG Meeting April 2-4, Rome, ITALY Y CM MY CY CMY K ABSTRACT BOOK Edited by: Eva Sacchi ROMA SOCIETÀ GEOLOGICA ITALIANA

4 April 2-4, Rome, ITALY Organized by Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome with the collaboration of Raggruppamento Carabinieri Investigazioni Scientifiche (Ra.C.I.S.) Società Geologica Italiana and the educational grant provided by QIAGEN, Sample & Assay Technologies

5 Indice del Supplemento n. 1 al volume 30 3RD ENFSI APST WG MEETING ABSTRACT BOOK BERKEFELD K., DE MEIJER E. & STAGINNUS C. Identifying Cannabis - Can Microscopy be More Exciting than a PCR Reaction?... 7 BERTI A., GIAMPAOLI S., ROMANO SPICA V. & RIPANI L. Genetic Approaches to Forensic Non-Human DNA Analysis... 8 DAWSON L. Soil: a Valuable Trace Material for Intelligence and Evidence. Examples from the James Hutton Institute, UK... 9 DAWSON L. Research Into the Use of Soil Microbial Characterisation in Forensic Case Work: MiSAFE an EU Funded Collaborative Research Project GAROFALO L., FANELLI R., FICO R. & LORENZINI R. When Animal and Human Forensics Meet: a Panel of Canine DNA Markers Usually Employed in Wildlife Forensics Applied to a Death Case of a Man GRADUSOVA O., PELENEVA M. & NESTERINA E. The Atlas of Extraneous Particles or Inclusions in Soils in Aid of Soil Forensic Experts KOTRLÝ M. & TURKOVÁ I. Analysis of Pedological Traces in the Institute of Criminalistics Prague MAROLF A.R., VENNEMANN T.W., BONZON J. & MASSONNET G. Forensic Geology: Characterization of Light Element Stable Isotopes in Soil Samples of the Swiss Plateau PEROTTI M.A. ENFSI-APST Whitepaper Draft: Mid and Long Term Needs for Animal, Plant and Soil Traces Analyses RECKEL F. Home Run for Castanopsis - Wood Identification in a Baseball Bat SCHLEENBECKER U. Case Report: DNA Analysis of a Bark Fragment Isolated from the Skull of a Victim SCHLESINGER U. 1 st ENFSI Animal, Plant and Soil Traces Working Group Proficiency Test Soil Investigation SZELECZ I., AMENDT J., SORGE F., SEPPEY C., MULOT M. & MITCHELL E.A.D. Soil Beneath Cadavers - Influence of Decomposition on Selected Chemical Markers and Free-living Terrestrial Nematodes THIEVEN U. Microscopic Identification of Digitalis Plant Material: A Brief Case Report WESSELINK M. & KUIPER I. Collaborative Exercise on Dog DNA UJVÁRI Z. & BOZÓ C. Current Situation of Forensic Entomology in Hungary, in Reflection of a Case Study ZIRPEL U. Tips and Tricks for Casework... 23

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7 Identifying Cannabis - Can Microscopy be More Exciting than a PCR Reaction? Klaus Berkefeld 1, Etienne De Meijer 2 & Christina Staginnus 1 1 Landeskriminalamt Rheinland-Pfalz, Mainz, Germany. 2 GW Pharmaceuticals plc., Salisbury, United Kingdom. Key words: Forensics, Cannabis sativa, Fluorescence microscopy. In forensic casework Cannabis sativa L. (hemp) is mostly identified by morphological peculiarities found on the surface of its green parts, such as glandular trichomes or cystolith hairs. The uniqueness of these features is discussed controversially and they are mostly not accepted as a sole proof for species identification. However, they might give a first hint. Fluorescence microscopy may be applied for a convenient and fast survey of surface structures in fresh and dried leaves, while polarized light may disclose additional characteristic structures. The forensic scientist should as well be aware of trichome structures associated with rare chemotypes or cannabinoid-free individuals. 7

8 Genetic Approaches to Forensic Non-Human DNA Analysis Andrea Berti 1, Saverio Giampaoli 2, Vincenzo Romano Spica 2 & Luigi Ripani 1 1 Carabinieri Reparto Investigazioni Scientifiche, Rome, Italy. 2 Università degli Studi di Roma Foro Italico, Unità di Sanità Pubblica, Rome, Italy. Key words: Forensic Non-Human DNA, soil analysis. The use of DNA evidence in forensic investigations has undergone a gradual evolution to become now a standard element in courtrooms of many countries. Starting from the first DNA profiling adopted in 80s for paternity determination, innovative molecular tools became soon available for the identification of many biological aspects relevant in legal judgments. The availability of robust PCR protocols has boosted DNA analysis also on minimal amount of biological samples and complex environmental mixtures. DNA tests were applied both to human and not-human genomes, strongly supported also by the implementation of public nucleotide databases and the completion of human genome project. Specific protocols of multiplex real time PCR has been successfully adopted in the characterization of microflora DNA (mfdna) as an important step in body fluid identification. In particular, the definition of the microbiological signature based on the presence of a few commensal bacteria allows the discrimination saliva, vaginal or fecal samples. The recent diffusion of massive parallel sequencing technology (also known as next generation sequencing, NGS) has strongly affected molecular investigations in many medical and biological fields. NGS platforms allow scientists to quickly solve the complexity of environmental matrices. For example, the identification/characterization of a soil sample can be performed now by metabarcoding, a rapid method of biodiversity assessment that combines DNA based identification and NGS: the high throughput identification of plant, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and animal is now feasible in only few working days. 8

9 Soil: a Valuable Trace Material for Intelligence and Evidence. Examples from the James Hutton Institute, UK Lorna Dawson 1 1 The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom. Key words: Soil Forensics, biomarkers. Soils, rocks, regolith, minerals and man-made materials, such as bricks, glass and tiles (referred to human-made or anthropogenic soil materials), in addition to vegetation sources, are being used in forensic investigations to test for association/disassociation of a sample taken from an item, such as shoes, clothing, shovel or vehicle, with both unknown and specific locations. The majority of forensic cases involving soil materials are usually overwhelmingly complex, and the challenges of comparing relevant information from one source with another, may benefit from the use and development of a range of sophisticated field, laboratory and court methods/materials. For many forensic applications, such as comparing samples of soil from clothing, footwear, tools, implements or vehicles to potential crime scenes, methods of analysis need to accommodate sample sizes of a few milligrams or less. This presentation will demonstrate how, in addition to the use of inorganic analyses, a range of biomarkers have been successfully used, as evidence in civil and criminal cases work. A range of compounds examined include naturally occurring long-chain fatty alcohols, aldehydes and ketones, sterols, and triterpenoids and anthropogenic substances such as PAHs, and oil-derived compounds (plasticisers, fuels). In addition, the use of some compounds (sterols, VOC s) in detection of past burials will be discussed. This presentation will also outline advances being made in the fields of molecular biology as applied to forensic soil science. Rigorous testing, miniaturization and adoption of a wider combination of analytical soil characterization approaches, coupled with complementary geographic referencing will potentially further increase the strength and range of cases where soil can be used in both search (investigation) and as evidence (evaluation) in court. To demonstrate the importance of soil materials in forensic investigations, case studies involving complex ground searches for burials, will be presented. GIS, vegetation, and spatial sampling issues will be discussed. This presentation will demonstrate how advanced field and laboratory approaches have been applied to coherent, predictive soil models, from landscape to microscopic scales. 9

10 Research Into the Use of Soil Microbial Characterisation in Forensic Case Work: MiSAFE an EU Funded Collaborative Research Project Lorna Dawson 1 1The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom. Key words: Soil Forensics, Soil Microbial Characterisation, MiSAFE project. Fighting crime is a significant concern of the European Union. The MiSAFE project (Microbial Soil Analysis) contributes to the commitment to a safe Europe. It also reflects the EU s 2020 Flagship Initiative (SEC (2010) 1161) for increasing the output of innovative research to the entrepreneurial world. Soil intelligence, like other analysis in forensic science, can usually be re-assessed to provide direct evidence during the evidential phase of an investigation, where it is being assembled against a specific suspect. Such soil evidence is often comparative, but it is necessary for the soil expert to assist the court as to the likelihood of the results being derived from some other, unrelated, location. The development of soil DNA tools within MiSAFE will improve on conventional approaches. The project partnership brings together research teams, police forces in two countries, and two SMEs (CLCB and Libragen). The SMEs provide expertise in bioinformatics and metagenomics, and the police forces (Israel Police and Garda Civil, Spain) ensure direct engagement with end-users within the project. The research teams are from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France and the James Hutton Institute, UK at which there are leading researchers in work on soils, soil microbial ecology and genomics. In addition, the James Hutton Institute has extensive experience in the use of soils in criminal investigations and court cases. The overall aim of MiSAFE is to develop tools for crime-fighting and crime-prevention, providing opportunities for European SMEs to lead in this new field of environmental genetic forensics. 10

11 When Animal and Human Forensics Meet: a Panel of Canine DNA Markers Usually Employed in Wildlife Forensics Applied to a Death Case of a Man Luisa Garofalo 1, Rita Fanelli 1, Rosario Fico 2, Rita Lorenzini 1 1 Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Lazio e Toscana, Rieti, Italy. 2 Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Lazio e Toscana, Grosseto, Italy. Key words: Animal and Human Forensics, canine DNA. In March 2012 an aged man died for traumatic shock following a dog attack in a suburban area of an Italian city. In order to identify the perpetrator(s), the victim s clothes were carefully inspected and 15 pieces of fabric showing saliva traces were collected. Seven dogs were captured in the surroundings of the crime scene thanks to an eye witness, who claimed to have seen the dogs roaming nearby those days. Genetic analysis was carried out to search for matches between the genotype/s from salivary stains on the clothes of the victim and the DNA profiles of the suspected dogs. Both the seven captured dogs and saliva samples were typed using a panel of 18 STR loci routinely used in our laboratory for wildlife forensic purposes. Genetic profiles were successfully obtained from all seven dogs. The pack of dogs showed some degree of relatedness, with some individuals showing brother/sister and parent/offspring relationships, suggesting that the whole pack might belong to a single owner. One complete 18- loci profile of a female dog was obtained from a saliva trace left on the victim s jacket. The salivary genotype matched with the genetic profile of one of the female dogs in the suspected pack. Using our in-house forensic wolf-dog database, a conservative sibling match probability was estimated as 2.4 x Considering the calculated likelihood ratio, it was approximately 4 billion times more likely that the canine DNA profile on the victim s clothes originated from the suspected female dog than if it derived from a dog randomly taken from the canine population. Incomplete profiles (consistent with the genotypes of the other dogs in the pack) were also obtained from additional saliva stains. Although the genetic results clearly linked the female dog and her pack to the crime scene, however, no one was found guilty of the man s death, because the alleged owner had not registered his dogs to the canine registry, so they were treated as free-roaming dogs. Compensation to the relatives were eventually paid by the municipality using public money. 11

12 The Atlas of Extraneous Particles or Inclusions in Soils in Aid of Soil Forensic Experts Key words: Forensics, inclusions in soil, atlas. Olga Gradusova 1, Marina Peleneva 1, Ekaterina Nesterina 1 1 Federal Budget Institution Russian Federal Centre of Forensic Science, Moscow, RUSSIA An examination of small particles which are called in Russia like inclusions in soil : and most commonly appear in foreign literature like foreign debris or exotic particles has a rather long history as in soil science so as in soil forensic science and archeological soil science. Nowadays, when urbanization spreads on a huge territories and one can hardly meet a native (uncontaminated and undisturbed) soil cover around big cities and small towns, the question about investigation of such particles is still being very actual. The evaluating of inclusions in soils is very important in modern classification of soils. Also very often their investigation plays an invaluable role in getting meaningful evidence during forensic examinations. The most known classification for inclusions in Russian classical soil science is the classification suggested by B.G. Rosanov. The questions about diagnostics and classification of inclusions in soils in the purpose of forensics were solved by different forensic expert services since th. In 1994 was given the first description and the key for diagnostics of 14 inclusions in soils, suggested by Vera Tjurikova and Natalija Semenova - experts from the System of Expert Institutions at the Ministry of Justice. The results of their work were included in the Manual on soil forensic examinations edited in Another attempt to classify and discriminate inclusions was done in the expert services of the Ministry of Interior of Russia almost simultaneously with the above mentioned. The results of the second approach were outlined in the works of Georg Omeljanuk in years. The main imperfection of both previous classifications, to our mind, was a small quantity of described objects and the total absence of illustrative material. The review of expert s reports in different expert divisions all over Russia highlighted the importance of developing a unit terminology and approach in diagnostics of inclusions. The aim of this work was to make an illustrative Atlas of inclusions in the aid of skilled forensic experts and newcomers to forensics. The purpose was also in optimizing the procedure of diagnostics and providing a consistency in reporting results of examination. In the result of the work the Atlas of inclusions with color illustrations which comprises 36 species of inclusions, which were met in real case work during the last 5-10 years, with a very simple key and description for diagnostics was developed. Several work cases will be presented to underline the significance of investigation of inclusions. 12

13 Analysis of Pedological Traces in the Institute of Criminalistics Prague Key words: Forensics, pedological traces. Marek Kotrlý 1, 2, Ivana Turková 1 1 Institute Of Criminalistics Prague, Praha, Czech Republic. 2 Charles University In Prague, Faculty Of Science, Praha, Czech Republic Analysis of pedological phases that adhered to clothing, footwear, vehicles, or other objects is relatively frequently required in forensic practice to confirm the place of origin of contamination. These are basically two types of tasks. This entails either standard comparisons, when the questioned soil phases are compared with collected reference samples to confirm the crime scene, vehicle route, etc. Alternatively, forecasting of an unknown location is required where contamination by soil may have occurred. These are in both cases complex analyses, in which the organic component of the sample is studied separately, possibly anthropogenic contamination and mineral material itself. Basic techniques are optical light microscopy in transmitted and reflected light, polarization, fluorescence, next are utilised SEM/EDS (WDS), XRF and FTIR. For the clay fraction, but also for other phases, the x-ray diffraction is imperative with applying conventional powder diffraction in transmission and reflected modes, scanning in a rotating capillary, and also micro x-ray diffraction, which allows to obtain a relevant structural record from the diameter around 0,1mm. Technique of cathode luminescence (CL) capable of distinguishing material based on its genesis, thus usually also according to a different place of occurrence, were introduced to differentiate mineralogical phases of practically identical chemical composition, optical characteristics, structure and similar inclusions. Good experience was obtained with some systems of automatic analysis of mineral grains (based on SEM/EDS), analysing several hundreds up to thousands of mineral grains, carrying out their automatic classification according to chemical composition and subsequently comparing samples by statistical methods. Biological material frequently present in the traces is analysed separately, plant and animal relicts are analyzed, including microscopic shells and relics (e.g. group Diatoms, etc.). Anthropogenic material (glass fragments, slag, construction materials, etc.) is analyzed separately by other techniques and may increase the probability measure of a match (hit) between traces and reference samples. For forecasting of unknown locations, where the contamination by soil may have occurred, systems of geographic information (GIS) are used, in which data are connected with detailed geological maps, both uncovered and covered, and with pedological maps. A detailed configuration of the field in a respective site is crucial for the assessment of all circumstances related to the detected trace, likewise employing 3D terrain models with a detailed topographic base and 3D models using orthophoto maps. The complex of methodologies is based on mineralogical and physical-chemical methods better embracing particularities of soil composition than some applied procedures arising from purely chemical base. Nevertheless, the introduced system at the same time is not omitting even biological and anthropogenic materials that usually represent a very important comparative material. Genetic methods that could compare both information from plant fragments and soil microorganisms are a big potential into the future. 13

14 Forensic Geology: Characterisation of Light Element Stable Isotopes in Soil Samples of the Swiss Plateau André R. Marolf 1, Torsten W. Vennemann 2, Jeanne Bonzon 3 & Geneviève Massonnet 1 1 Institute Of Forensic Science, School Of Criminal Justice, University Of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. 2 Institute Of Mineralogy And Geochemistry, University Of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. 3 Geology Museum, University Of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. Key words: Soil Forensics, stable isotopes, Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS). The purpose of this work is to characterise soil samples from the Swiss Plateau for their stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions as a basis for forensic and geological research. Five sampling locations were chosen in the western part of Switzerland, and six in the greater Zurich area. The coordinates of the latter locations have been taken from real crime scenes (anonymised). Fourteen samples per location were collected for all localities except for the greater Zurich area where six samples per location were chosen, following a regular pattern for all locations. All the soil samples were characterised for their carbon and oxygen isotopic composition via Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS). Organic compounds have been removed and carbonates and silicates analysed separately with a GasBench II, respectively a CO 2 -laser based extraction line, both linked to an IRMS. The results indicate that carbon and oxygen isotopes are a promising tool to investigate variations in soils from the Swiss Plateau, but distinguishing between locations in the same region is still challenging. Despite these difficulties, three major domains can be clearly distinguished and the data shows that isotopes can be an additional, new 'fingerprint' of soils. The domains of Valais (Martigny), the Romandie (Lausanne, Genève, Yverdon) and the Zürich region (Gockhausen, Hausen-am-Albis, Kindhausen, Oetwil-an-der-Limmat, Wallisellen and Wiesendangen) can be distinguished. A fourth domain (Fribourg), however, slightly overlaps the Zürich region and the Romandie domain and hence remains ambiguous. The fact that other samples of carbonate, quartz and clay minerals that have been analysed from the Molasse show similar values to the soils analysed here, could indicate that the Molasse and the corresponding reworked Quaternary deposits are the main sources of inorganic soil material. The data confirms chemical and physical processes of soil formation and may thus be of help for interpretations of the geology, pedology, and for forensics in Switzerland. More analyses of soils will certainly help to provide further and additional information on soil provenance. 14

15 ENFSI-APST Whitepaper Draft: Mid and Long Term Needs for Animal, Plant and Soil Traces Analyses Key words: Forensics, animal traces, plant traces, soil traces. Maria Alejandra Perotti 1 1 School Of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. ENFSI is conducting a review of future development needs of its expert groups. During 2013, a letter was sent to all APST members asking for ideas, comments, improvements, particularly on future research and the direction of future work. Answers were received, collated and a whitepaper was finally produced. The following bulletpoints highlight the subjects for a further discussion during the meeting in Rome: Fragments analyses: The need for identification to the species, subspecies or hybrid level from plant fragments with conjoint use of tabletop electron microscopy and fluorescence stereomicroscopy; atlases and reference collections for forensic laboratories. Fragments of insects and mites will equally underpin trace analyses. Drowning and use of diatoms in conjunction with bacterial communities Animal traces: Species identification of biological traces based on molecular genetics, including qualitative and quantitative approaches to analyse mixed source samples. Simultaneous analyses of markers of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. Wildlife: New studies on animal molecular genetics. This should be coordinated to build a database of genotypes for endangered species across Europe. Soil traces: The combined use of morphological, mineralogical and spectroscopic methods to analyze the properties of soils for forensic purposes, such as colour analysis by the spectrophotometer, etc; plus (combined with) genetic bacterial population profiling. Decomposition: Identifying specialized guilds or indicator-species as markers of stage of decomposition, and in particular habitats, might be identified by the combination of morphological analysis of necrophilic organisms with DNA analysis using next generation sequencing. Forensic acarology: The development of a reference collection is an important first step that should be followed by molecular characterisation of forensic important taxa Innovation requirements to fulfill the proposed developments: Microbial profiling including Archaea, yeast and fungi. Image analysis, finding and recognizing traces. Reference collections Expert databases Population database (e.g. molecular characterizations) Amplification of DNA from traces Next Generation Sequencing Aside from the advances in research and development, there is the problem of the power of traces. This can only be solved by the application of probabilities, from simple analysis of likelihood ratios to Bayesian networks. This paper proposes new approaches, research and ideas, all with the aim of discussing the future development of this multidisciplinary field. 15

16 Home Run for Castanopsis - Wood Identification in a Baseball Bat Frank Reckel Bavarian State Criminal Police Office, Munich, Germany. Key words: Forensics, wood identification. The talk presents a case investigated by the units Microtraces/Biology and Physics of the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office. A man was attacked with a baseball bat, being hit several times on his body and his head. During the assault, the bat was cracked. The aim of the investigation was to determine the kinetic energy which was necessary to break the bat, since the prosecution wanted to get an idea of the force, the perpetrator must have applied. At first, the making and the material of the baseball bat were determined. This information was necessary for the physicists to run a series of fracture-experiments with a bat as equal as possible to the one used in the crime. The bat was made of solid chinquapin wood (Castanopsis sp., Familiy Fagaceae), an exotic wood rarely sold in Germany, and a very unusual material for baseball bats. This discrepancy could be cleared up, when a second baseball bat used by the physicists in their fracture-experiments had to be examined. The wood type of this second bat the cheapest one found in an online military shop was identical to the bat which had been used for the attack. 16

17 Case Report: DNA Analysis of a Bark Fragment Isolated from the Skull of a Victim Key words: Forensics, wood identification, DNA analysis. Uwe Schleenbecker 1 1 Bundeskriminalamt, Kriminaltechnisches Institut, Wiesbaden, Germany. In January 2009, a woman was found dead in a forest. She was the owner of a farm including a forest and holiday flats and had been working in the forest with her assistant. The assistant told the police that she was killed accidentally through a falling branch of a tree (tree no. 2). At the time in question, the victim and her assistant had been removing branches from a tree that had been cut down (tree no. 1). When the police found out that the suspect had shortly before faked a lease agreement in his favour and that the blood pattern found at the scene of crime did not match the blood pattern to be expected as a result of an accident,a murder case was opened. The Forensic Science Institute of the BKA was subsequently requested to investigate whether a fragment of oak bark found in the skull of the victim originated from the tree that had been cut down (tree no. 1) or from tree no. 2 as described by the suspect. DNA-analysis was performed on the bark fragment isolated from the skull and bark retrieved from the winter shoots of two other trees. In this way it was possible to show that the bark fragment in the skull of the victim could only originate from tree no

18 1 st ENFSI Animal, Plant and Soil Traces Working Group Proficiency Test Soil Investigation 2013 Key words: Forensics, soil investigation. Ulrike Schlesinger 1 1 Landeskriminalamt Nrw, Düsseldorf, Germany. An overview of the results of the first APST soil collaborative test 2013 will be given. Two soil samples were send in 2013 to 21 institutes in Europe, 16 institutes send their results back. The differences and similarities found in the samples by the institutes and the methods they used for the examination of the samples will be presented. 18

19 Soil Beneath Cadavers - Influence of Decomposition on Selected Chemical Markers and Free-living Terrestrial Nematodes Ildikô Szelecz 1, 2, Jens Amendt 1, Franziska Sorge 1, 2, Christophe Seppey 2, Matthieu Mulot 2, Edward A.D. Mitchell 2 1 Institut Für Rechtsmedizin, Forensische Biologie/Entomologie, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany. 2 Laboratory Of Soil Biology, University Of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Key words: Soil Forensics, terrestrial nematodes. A cadaver decomposing on the soil releases a considerable amount of nutrients and water into the soil and has a clear impact on the soil ecosystem. Especially during active decay body fluids seep into the surrounding ground and provide a nutrient-rich resource with direct and indirect effects on the soil community. In order to develop new tools in forensic science as e.g. estimating longer post-mortem intervals we are investigating the temporal patterns of the responses of soil biota to the input of cadaveric fluids. In July 2013 ten pig cadavers (Sus scrofa) were placed in a spruce forest near Neuchâtel (Switzerland): five cadavers directly on the ground and five cadavers in cages approximately 1m above from the ground), the latter for simulating a hanging scenario. Additionally we applied five controls (bare soil as a reference) and five fake cadavers (bags filled with soil). So far soil samples were taken on eight sampling days from the end of June 2013 (control- before the placing of the cadavers) up to November The proceeding decomposition of the pig cadavers resulted in an increase in soil ph up to three weeks post mortem and declined afterwards. This effect was strongest in the ground pig treatment. Soil Ammonium concentration also increased beneath the cadavers but peaked later i.e. two months post mortem. Nematode abundance and community structure already showed a clear response to the changing environment. From one week before the cadavers were placed and until 4 months after the placing of the cadavers all the control samples were showing the same pattern of diversity, dominated by plant feeders (Tylenchidae), bacterial feeders (Plectidae) and predators/omnivores (Aporcelaimidae and Qudsianematidae). Beneath the ground and the hanging pigs there was a massive increase in nematode abundance two weeks after the pigs were placed and the nematode community was clearly dominated by the family Rhabditidae (bacterial feeders). Three weeks after placement the nematode abundance decreased noticeably underneath the pig treatments less strong under the hanging than under the ground pigs- still being dominated by the bacterial feeding Rhabditidae. From the 20 nematode families being present in the control samples only one single family remained (Rhabditidae) and two new ones appeared (Neodiplogasteridae and Diplogasteridae) in the pig treatments during decomposition. 19

20 Microscopic Identification of Digitalis Plant Material: A Brief Case Report Ursula Thieven 1 1 Landeskriminalamt Niedersachsen, Hannover, Germany. Key words: Forensics, plant traces. A case example is presented, demonstrating the value of microscopy in the context of forensic science analysis. Probably the same blackmailer threatened several times to place poisoned food stuffs in supermarkets. During this time he announced several hiding places where he deposited different food samples, none of them accessible to the public, to demonstrate the seriousness of his menace. Chemical analysis performed with routine methods revealed no evidence on any toxic substances. We received jars with jam and small plastic bags with powdered material for analysis on biological components. Both the powdered material and particles which we isolated from the jams were identified by microscopic analysis as plant material. Characteristic features of Digitalis purpurea L. (foxglove) were discovered in both sample materials. With this information chemical analysis was modified and cardiac glycosides were detected in both materials at relevant concentrations. 20